1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a playing card dispenser commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9cshoexe2x80x9d and, more particularly, to a dispenser guard apparatus which, when in position in combination with the shoe, substantially inhibits the ability of the dealer to cheat by dealing the second card or cards other than the top one. It does so by concealing from view of the dealer the next card in the shoe and also blocks the manipulation by the dealer of that card in order to deal the card behind it. The dispenser device also includes an improved card follower or xe2x80x9cpusherxe2x80x9d to bias the cards toward the dispensing position.
2. Description of the Related Art
Both the gaming industry and individual card gamers may employ playing card dispensers, commonly known as xe2x80x9cshoes,xe2x80x9d in order to facilitate the dealing of the cards in an honest and straightforward manner. In the card game of blackjack, for example, a shoe is stocked with one or more decks of shuffled playing cards. Conventionally, the front panel of the shoe is provided with an opening extending upward from the bottom through which the back of the next card be dealt is exposed. To access this card, the dealer slides his thumb or fingers downwardly along this opening with the result that the card is moved downward and out through a slot at the bottom of the shoe in a face down position.
Because of the opening in the front panel, the back side of the card which is to be dealt next is exposed. Thus, if a player had previously marked that card he would be able to see the mark before he placed his bet and before the card was dealt. Likewise, if a dealer had previously marked a card or knew of the marking, the dealer also would be able to see the marked card prior to it being dealt. Because of this arrangement, a skillful and unscrupulous dealer could lift the marked card to save it for a xe2x80x9cshillxe2x80x9d and deal the card immediately behind the marked card.
Any cheating by a dealer in this manner gives a bad name to the casino or other gaming facility. Accordingly, efforts have been made, to develop apparatus which render misdealing from a shoe impossible.
Apparatus has been developed in the prior art which serves to cover the front panel opening with a flexible closure so that the cards in the shoe, particularly the next card to be dealt, cannot be seen by the dealer or players. One such arrangement is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,371 of Harrigan wherein a plate to be placed over the front panel of the shoe has an opening essentially aligned with the front panel opening. The plate has a flexible closure for the opening therein which may be parted along a vertical axis to provide the dealer""s fingers access to the next card to be dealt. The flexible closure includes a plurality of inwardly projecting strands extending from the right and left perimeter of the opening in the plate, somewhat resembling a paint brush, in order to conceal the top playing card in the shoe. This arrangement is undesirably cumbersome, is subject to wear and adds significantly to the cost of the shoe on which it is mounted.
Klepetar U.S. Pat. No. 701,358 and Weber et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,288,870 disclose different apparatus for delivering or vending pasteboard tickets which are oriented in the delivery apparatus in stacks. The Klepetar patent has an arrangement for preventing a dispensed ticket from being taken back into the apparatus. The same mechanism is said to prevent fraudulent extraction of tickets. The Weber et al. apparatus is said to obviate the problem of jamming in the delivery of individual tickets from the stack of tickets within the machine. It is not seen how either one of these arrangements could be readily adapted to the card dealing apparatus used in the gaming industry.
French patent 572.837 was cited as a reference of record in the Harrigan patent. However, no translation is available and therefore applicant is unable to discern any possible relevance to the present invention.
Conventional playing-card dealing shoes incorporate an arrangement to move the deck of cards in the direction of the front panel opening so that the next card dealt is always accessible to the dealer, merely upon his putting his fingers through the opening to access the card. In a typical dealer shoe, the bottom of the card box is slanted downwardly toward the front opening and a follower, not shown in the Harrigan patent, is provided to push the deck of cards downward along the slanted bottom and forward toward the opening. Typically the follower comprises a frame or housing having a slanted forward wall. Within the housing, extending laterally thereof between the side walls of this housing is a single roller having outwardly projecting bands which engage the floor of the shoe. This roller is mounted near the rear of the housing in such a manner that the housing pivots forwardly and downwardly so that its front wall bottom edge slides along the floor of the shoe. The housing is generally constructed of a lightweight material, such as plastic or aluminum, but the roller is made of steel or some other heavier material. The weight of this roller is what pushes the follower, and the cards in front of it, down the incline bottom toward the front wall opening of the shoe.
With repeated use of the dealer shoe, the forward edge of the follower housing scrapes along the bottom wall of the shoe and eventually develops roughness and surface irregularities which on occasion cause the follower to hang up or stick in a retracted position, such; that the playing cards are no longer presented adjacent the opening in the front wall. This is an undesirable problem, for which the preferred arrangement of the present invention provides a solution.
In brief, particular arrangements in accordance with the present invention comprise a plate for fitting over the front panel of a conventional card dealing shoe to preclude the dealer or players from viewing the top card in the shoe.
The plate is bifurcated into upper and lower sections which are joined by a hinge in a manner which permits the lower section to be raised somewhat so that the dealer""s fingers can access the opening in the front panel of the shoe without exposing the top card prior to its withdrawal to be dealt. The upper section is provided with an adhesive backing or other means which permit the upper plate to be affixed to the corresponding portion of the front panel of the shoe.
For convenience in raising the lower portion of the plate to provide access to the next card in the shoe, the lower portion is shaped, as by molding, with a projection which extends slightly outward from the surface of the plate. This projection is shaped to define a short channel through the plate along which the dealer""s thumb and/or fingers may access the top card through the opening in the front panel of the shoe. The shape of the projection is such that insertion of the dealer""s thumb into the channel automatically raises the lower portion of the plate, pivoting about the hinge, just enough to gain access to the card to be dealt without exposing the card to view. The cards within the shoe are biased toward the front panel of the shoe by a card follower device fashioned in accordance with an aspect of the invention.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the hinge is formed by a small plastic pin or dowel which is inserted through the gudgeon elements of the upper and lower portions of the plate. Preferably the pin is press fit into the two end gudgeons of the assembly.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, a spring is provided in the hinge mechanism to bias the lower portion of the plate toward its closed position. This provides greater assurance that the lower portion is not inadvertently raised to the point where the top card in the shoe is exposed to view. In one preferred embodiment, this spring is formed of spring wire having two members extending in opposite directions from a central coiled portion that encircles the pivot pin in the center of the hinge. Small holes are provided in each of the upper and lower portions of the plate for receiving bent terminal ends of the spring, holding them in place so that the extensions from the central coiled core of the spring apply forces against the upper and lower portions of the plate to urge the lower portion downward toward the lower portion of the shoe front panel and maintain the opening in the panel covered.
The follower device of the present invention avoids the disadvantages described hereinabove with respect to follower devices of the prior art by having a pair of steel rollers extending transversely of the housing, the ends of which are supported for rotation in bearings within the side walls of the housing. These rollers are on opposite sides of the lateral and mid-plane of the follower housing and comprise a weight approximately equal to the weight of the single roller of the prior art follower device so that the desired result of biasing the cards toward and up to the front panel opening is achieved. However, the occasional hangups of the follower device of the prior art are avoided by the follower of the invention by virtue of the fact that there is no point or line of contact between the follower housing and the floor of the shoe. Each roller is provided with a pair of xe2x80x9ctiresxe2x80x9d on opposite sides of the roller midpoint. Thus, the follower device is supported at four points by these xe2x80x9ctiresxe2x80x9d on the rollers in a stable arrangement which avoids any sliding friction with the bottom of the shoe. These xe2x80x9ctiresxe2x80x9d may advantageously comprise standard O-rings of suitable dimension and are mounted and held in position on the rollers by circumferential depressions in the roller surfaces.
In addition to the bifurcated plate assembly described hereinabove, the invention also encompasses the combination of such a plate and a shoe. In such combination, the front panel of the shoe might be integrally formed with the upper portion of the plate. Alternatively, the upper portion of the plate would be attached to the shoe by conventional means, such as an adhesive-backed insert, glue, cement, screws, nails, string, rubber bands, to name a few, or any equivalent thereof. In fact, the bifurcated plate could take the place of the front panel of the shoe in certain configurations where the upper part of the plate serves to retain the cards in the shoe while permitting the top card to be removed during access as the lower portion is raised.